Monday, 22 February 2010

Sanjog (1971)

Apologies for my sudden absence from the blogosphere, i had so much on my hands that i was feeling a bit too overwhelmed to blog, i'm skeptical about doing specials from now on as whenever i plan them, something always comes up that stops me from keeping to my said objectives. Anyway i'm on fine form now and this is the last of the films in my Mala Sinha Fan Club special, just as well its a 70's one keeping with the 70's week going on around the blogosphere

On the day of her appointment as the Chief Collector of an organisation as Asha (Mala Sinha) the new boss in charge is being introduced to her new staff she meets Mohan a man with whom she once her shared life with

In a series of flashbacks, it turns out Asha & Mohan were lovers at college, they marry without the consent of Mohan's parents who break the marriage up after sending Mohan away to study due to Asha's lower class background

Her father Madan Puri is determined to giver her a new life by getting her married again to an eligible bachelor only for him to realise she's pregnant. He promises to make his daughter highly educated and get back at Mohan's family who had looked down upon their status

Mohan tells Asha his own side of the story on how his parents had told him she's dead and upon going to her family house he found new tenants living there,his mum then fixes his marriage to another woman Seema (Aruna Irani)

Asha makes him aware of his son and their constant conversations and meeting get the busy bodies at work headed by Johnny Walker suspicious of a possible affair between the boss and Mohan

His reunion with Asha whom he had long thought dead as well as his discovery of a son he had no idea exists makes Mohan overwhelmed and its not long before he begins feeling depressed. (He thinks now that Asha is his boss that she'll be out for revenge, Asha on the other hand still loves him and is attempting to resolve her heartbreak)

Seema his wife gets suspicious of his depressed countenance daily after returning from work, she goes in to his work place and talks to Asha to lessen Mohan's workload, Seema thinks this is the problem but Mohan & Asha keep stories of their past between themselves only

The gossip mongers at work add even more fire to the situation by ringing Seema and telling her of an affair between Asha & Mohan

Thus Seema becomes insecure and distrustful of both Asha & Mohan, things also take a turn for Mohan at work when a very important file in his custody goes missing

Past tensions/hurts in their relationships resurfaces when Mohan goes to explain the case of the missing file. Asha herself seems confused, on the one hand she acts formal and professional as his boss in the company of the other workers but when they're alone she's emotional and quite subservient to him

How will the tensions in their relationship be resolved? Will Seema ever learn the real truth behind Asha & Mohan's relationship?

Overall an enyoyable and a very watchable film, the ending ruined things when it descended into chaotic melodrama mode of someone having to get the man and the other person being killed off just to make things easier, why couldn't script writers find a way to deal with a man with two lovers rather than killing one off all the time, i've come across this trope in many bollywood films

Other things that I loved about Sanjog were the performances, everyone is on fine form here but i especially loved Mala in her act as the boss, so much grace, charisma and Ohh what a presence,it was refreshing to see a woman command male attention/respect for her brains and skills rather than for revealing skin

I don't think i would ever understand why Aruna never made it as a major heroine she could act, sing and dance and had it all but still for some reason she was always relegated to the side, here she shines and one wonders what she must have been capable of as a leading lady

8 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I had first seen this movie when I was 14 and I had liked it so much that I picked up the dvd few months back and saw it again. But, this time around, I didn't find the movie all that great, I found it just average. It could be either because I have been watching better movies of late or because my tastes have changed over the years.I love Aruna Irani in this. She's done such a fab job as Seema. I really wonder why she didn't make it big as a leading lady. Good storyline but as you pointed out they kill one character just to make the plot convenient and that too with so much of melo-drama!!!! One of those very few movies where they don't kill the character at the end of a love triangle is Pooja Ke Phool starring Dharmendra, Mala Sinha and Nimmi. Being so used to it, I was actually waiting for someone to die at the end, and was rather surprised the way it ended.

Yes, I hate that inevitable killing off of one corner of a love triangle to solve the situation! Horrible. Two other films which didn't have that were Amar (Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nimmi) and Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka (Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Leena Chandavarkar - this one had an awful end, not the type I'd have wanted, but at least no-one died).

@ Sunehri Had they handled the ending properly this would have made it onto my favourites list

@ dusted off Yes i do remember Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, i almost thought someone was gonna die in that too, do you remember Leena hanging on to dear life to avoid falling off a cliff.I soo wanted Leena to get Dharam in Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka

When they dont kill off one heroine, it gets even worse. In Yash Chopra's Daag, the hero goes home with BOTH women! So, on the whole, I'd much rather have one corner of the triangle permanently eliminated. Did they kill off Mala Sinha's character, here?

And I've always wondered why Aruna Irani never got the chance to make it big. She had everything going for her. Maybe she could act too well, thats why they wouldnt make her a heroine? ;-)

@ bollyviewer It was Indeed Mala that got killed off,then her eyes were removed and given to Aruna...lol right i promise i didn't make that up, yes i do remember Daag as well thankfully neither Raakhee nor Sharmila kicked the bucket

About Me

I'm an outgoing, fun and down to earth guy who is bollywood crazy, hence why this blog is called bollywood deewana(dee-vah-nah). Bollywood is like a hobby for me, i love reading about it, watching, researching etc. I started this blog out of inspiration by other bollywood blogs i read, plus i watch a good deal of movies, at least 2-3 in a week, hence i thought why not give my reviews and share my love of Indian Cinema.
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